Tom Hardy In Talks To Join Leonardo DiCaprio In The Revenant

The Revenant has been an exciting project for years. The tale of one man's survival against the elements, the film has had Leonardo DiCaprio attached for a while, but it's failed to gain traction as his dance card has filled up considerably. But thanks to an Inception co-star, Leo might not have to wait to long to occupy the dark headspace that is The Revenant.

The Wrap confirms that Tom Hardy is in talks to co-star in The Revenant, re-teaming him with Leonardo DiCaprio years after Inception. The moody drama is based on Michael Punke's novel The Revenant: A Novel Of Revenge. In it, nineteenth century fur trapper Hugh Glass is mauled by a bear, only to be abandoned by his friends, who escape with his goods and supplies. However, Glass lives, and sets out on a journey for revenge against the lousiest friends one could want. Sean Penn was previously rumored for the other part, but that possibility looks to be long dead.

It's a good role for Tom Hardy given that, on paper, he seems like a villain. The guy ditches his buddy after scavenging stuff off what he thinks is his corpse. Dude, no solidarity. Bros before bears, homey. But on the flip side, it's a damned bear attack. Anyone would run. Given how medical treatments were back then, if some dude got ravaged by a bear, your thoughts would be, "Well, that guy's over." Plucking his goods from what's left of the guy is really the practical thing to do. Knowing Hardy, he should bring a unique dimension to the part, generating both sympathy and hatred from the audience. Of course, he could also just play the guy as a scowling over-the-top baddie and that would be cool too. Whatever the case, we're sure to get another ridiculous accent from Hardy's bag of tools.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is directing, and you wonder how bleak he'll make the film. He's cornered the market on pitch-black morality tales after Babel and 21 Grams. His Biutiful earned Oscar attention, but sitting through that admittedly-powerful film is going to take a lot. But he's also experimenting with his style: this fall brings Birdman, an idiosyncratic comedy about a ridiculously hard rapper with a ludicrous name.

Wait, no. Birdman is about a failed actor who turns his biggest role into a Broadway show. Sorry for the mixup, Birdman.

Inarritu is willing to stretch even farther, and his flirtation with The Jungle Book suggests he wants to try new things. The Revenant is expected to shoot this fall.